Cierra Lemott 
True Star Media’s six-week summer program has come to a close.
Disciplines learned by just over 80 youth this summer included journalism, videography, screenwriting and movie production, cinematography, graphic design, social media and podcasting.
Sharmon Jarmon, a True Star podcast instructor and TS alum at BBF (Building Brighter Futures Center for the Arts) on the West Side, said she enjoyed the summer with her students and seeing them develop over their six weeks together.
“[One] of the highlights [of the summer] was seeing the sparkle in the students’ faces when they realized what they were creating,” said Jarmon. “At first, they thought I was making them do a lot of random activities, but by the end, they saw that I was showing them how to create their system of work and basically how each step leads to the next step.”
This summer, True Star participants had the opportunity to visit places such as CineCity Studios, Adobe’s downtown Chicago office, and Halas Hall for Bear’s training camp. TS members had the opportunity to create content for the events that have been covered. Participants even got to aid in planning True Star’s fourth annual From The ‘Go Fest.
The best thing about this summer session has been seeing all of the hard work everyone has put into bringing From The ‘Go Fest back for yet another successful year. This year’s festival had more than 1,200 attendees, our highest attendance yet! BMOA (Black McDonald’s Operators Association) even sponsored two Micro grant worth $1500 for two True Star participants to help them further their career goals.
“From The ‘Go Fest is all about building community. True Star is all about building community. People felt connected, together and we’re building this community that we’ve always dreamed of,” said True Star Co-Founder DeAnna McLeary Sherman. “Every year, it’s gotten bigger and this year was no exception.”
Madisyn Godbolt, a rising junior at Lindblom Math and Science Academy, spent her six weeks working with True Star’s video production team, a career field she hopes to work in as an adult. “It usually takes time for me to warm up to new people, especially with how many people I’ve met through this program, but True Star immediately welcomed me into the family and made me feel very comfortable very quickly.” Godbolt, added, “I don’t think I’ve ever done as much or had half the experiences and adventures I’ve had in a summer before I joined the team, and I’m truly grateful for that.”
This was definitely a summer to remember. From the field trips we took to the outcomes of projects we created, it was a great summer.
Stay tuned for True Star’s next session of programs and the next annual festival. Be on the lookout for information on how to get tickets for the debut of the Flip the Script short film this fall.
By Cierra Lemott, Columbia College Chicago Alumni
Instagram: @cece.kodak / @kodakscamera
X: @LemottCierra
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